Bomb fuse



J. c. BYRNES ETAL' BOMB FUSE Filed. Feb. 15, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 1` .ls-nllmlll 47 50 3 if n 1H /9- M, 1945 J. c. BYRNEs ETAL 42,400,100

` BOMB FUSE Filed Feb. l5, 19254v V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 14, 1946 NHTED STATES PTENT BOlllB FUSE James C. ByrneaUnited States Navy, Ernest C. Moriarty, Washington, D. C., and James C. Darnall, Hyattsville, Md.

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention relates to bomb fuses, and more particularly to that type thereof in which the ring mechanism, initially in an unarmed condition, is moved to the armed condition by action of the air upon parts of the fuse.

It is the object of this invention to provide a bomb fuse that has great resistance to ring when unarmed, and further to provide delay means for arming the fuse after the bomb has been released.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be described more fully hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal axial section of our invention showing the parts in the unarmed condition;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the parts in the armed condition;

Figs. 3, 4, 7 and 9 are transverse sections taken on lines 3 3, 4--4', I-l and 9 9 of Fig. 1, respectively;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fuse body;

Figs. 6 and 8 are respectivelya side elevation and a bottom plan view of the element that carries the striker;

10 is a side elevation of a sleeve in which certain parts are housed and a threaded nuty ity I5 being extended downwardly with reduced diameter as indicated at I6. The upper end of body II is formed with a series of projections I'I and has an aperture I8 through the body wall to receive a locking pin I9 that is screwed into the bodywall to hold sleeve '20 against both rotatory and longitudinal movement in cavity I5.

Seated upon the shoulder formed at the junction of cavity I5 and extension I6 thereof is an internally threaded nut 2| having through it a hole 22 to receive fuse train pellets, and held against rotation by a pin 23 that engages both nut 2I and body II. As shown in Fig. 10, the wall of sleeve 20 at its lower end is cut away throughout the major portion of its circumference, leaving a tab 24 that seats upon nut 2I and has a tongue 25 extending into a slot 26 in nut 2 I. A sleeve 2I has external threads at its lower end that engage the threads of nut 2|, the longitudinal movement of the sleeve being limited by a shoulder at the upper end of the threaded portion and by aA screw 23 threaded into the lower end thereof.

A detonator holder 29 is rotatable upon sleeve 2l and is seated upon the upper face of nut 2|, the rotation of the detonator holder being limited by a tongue 3i) that extends into the cutaway portion at the lower end of sleeve 20 and contacts the two edges oi tab 24 at its two limits of movement. The detonator 3| in detonator holder 29 is angularly spaced 180 from the fuse train and booster lead-in when the parts are in the unarmed condition, as shown in Fig. 1.

The ring pin 32 is secured in ring pin carrier 33 by a shear pin 34. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the firing pin carrier 33 is disposed to rotate upon the detonator holder 29 and sleeve 2l, there being a portion 35 of the carrier that extends downwardly to engage the detonator holder 29 and cause the detonator holder to rotate with the iiring pin carrier, but since the portion 35 is of only substantially 180 in angular extent, the firing pin carrier will rotate for some time before engaging the detonator holder. A thrust rod 36 is secured in the upper end of sleeve 2'I by a shear pin 3l and has on it a laterally extending ilange or collar 38. The element 39 is seated upon collar 38 and is rotatable on thrust rod 36, the lower surface of element 39 having formed on it projections 40 that seat between projection Il oi body II and hold the element 39 against rotation when in the unarmed condition. Extending from the radial inner ends of projections 40 are three lugs 4I, 42 and 43, the former two being of substantially equal length and extending approximately to the upper face 44 of ring pin carrier 33, while lug 43 is of sufficient length to contact face 45 of the firing pin carrier and cause the vcarrier to rotate with element 39; however, the angular extent of the portion of the ring pin'carrier contacted by lug 43 is such that element 39 rotates through a number of degrees before lug 43 engages the firing pin carrer.

Rotatably disposed on thrust rod 36 above the element 39 is vane carrier 46 to which are secured the vanes 4l to rotate the ring mechanism. Upon a shaft 48 that is journaled in vane carrier 46 are fixed two pinions 49 and 50 having the same number of teeth, the former being meshed is obvious that since gear 53 has one tooth rmore n than gear 5I, when one oi those gears Ais held against rotation and the other is left free to turn,

the latter will be rotated with respect to the former through an angular distance equal to that subtended by one tooth onV gear 53. If it is desired to increase the rate Vof relative rotation between the internal gears, the 'number of teeth on the one gear in excess of that on the other may be made greater than` one. is passed through aligned holes in element 39 and vane carrier 46 to prevent arming ofthe fuse before the bomb is released, the arming wire being withdrawn at the time 'of launching the bomb as is the usual practice. An exterior sleeve 55 is secured to the upper part of body II and encloseselement 39 to prevent entry of any object Y between the element 39 and body I I when in the armed condition, which 'object might Vprevent the rin'g of the bomb upon impact.

The 4'operation of our bomb fuse is as follows:

It will be noted in Fig. 4 that the deton'ator 3 I, the ring pin 32 and the booster hlead-in passage 'I3 are all angularly separated 'fromone another inthe unarmed condition, the firing pin Vbeing housed between lugs 4I and '152, the former of which serves as ra striker to drive the ring pin ,against the detonator 'to explode the bomb.

. not the same, the head 52 is caused to rotate slowly which, in turn, rotates Ythrust Vrod 36 and sleeve 21., causing the sleeve to be translated upwardly due to its being in Vthreaded engageinen't with the Vfixed nut `2'I. The translational -movement of sleeve 21 is transmitted to element 39 and lifts that 'element so 'that the projections 66 thereon will clear projections I1 on body I I. When screw '28 lhas been brought up against nut 2'I, 'further rotation of sleeve 21 is prevented and holds head 52 also against rotation. Element v39 being now free to "rotate, it is driven slowly around by the gears, thus bringing lug 43 into Contact with Via'ce 45 of 'the 'ring pin carrier, which'causes the firing pin carrier to rotate until thefiring pin 32 is directly above detonator '3'I at which time face 56 dn'the 4iring Ipin carrier contacts face 51 on the deton'a'to'r holder 'and 'the two rotate in unison until 'tongue 30 on the detonator holder contacts the opposite Vedge of tab 2l, at 'which'time the detonatoril'l the firing pin 32 and striker 4l are all aligned with each other and with the booster lead-#in passage. then 'in 'the armed condition shown in Fig. 2 and all parts of element 39 are spaced from the respectively opposed parts of Ybody Il. yImpact of head 52 upon a target will drive thrust rod A36 inwardly and shear the pin 31, permitting striker 4'! to drive firing pin 32 'inwardly which'will shear Vdeton'ato'r 3 I Arming wire 54 "The fuse Vis bomb. If the fuse should be accidentally armed,

it can be unarmed by manually rotating vanes 41 in the direction opposite to that in which they are driven by the air pressure until movement there- 5 of is stopped by the interlockirg of the parts of the fuse.

It will be `noted that considerable space is left in the fuse body above the detonator holder. This is to permit expansion of gases evolved by the detonator without igniting the fuse if the deto- V nator should be accidentally red when the parts varernot inthe armed condition. YWhen in the farmed'condition, 'escape of the detonator gases Ainto -'the body of the fuse is prevented by the ring pin holder and iiring pin, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only vthe general and preferred embodiments of ourV invention, and that various changes may be madevwithin thescope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the Yadvantages of this invention. v

The` herein described invention may be manufactured and used by or for the Government .0f the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty therefor. v v

We claim:

1. Afuse, comprising a body having projections at one end, a cavity for a booster charge yand a booster lead-in communicating with said cavity; a 'nut non-rotably'iixed'in said body and having Van aperture that forms a continuation `of said lead-in,V a translating sleeve .having external threads engaged with the threads in said nut `and stops to limit longitudinal `movement. thereof in both directions, a fixed sleeve in said body having a major arc segment of its wall cut away adjacent said nut, a detonator Vcarrier rotatable 'on lsaid translating sleeve against a face-of said nut and vhaving -a-tongue vextending into the cut-away portion of said fixed sleeve, the remaining minor are segment of said wall forming limit stops for said detonator carrier, a detonator in said carrier, Va firing pincarrier rotatable on Asaid translating sleeve having a delay motion yengagement with said detonator carrier, a flring'pin secure'din said firing pin Vcarrier Vby means of a shear pin and 50, disposed to Abe aligned 4with said detonator when the two said carriers are engaged, .an element operatively connected to said `translating sleeve, said element normally being llocked Vwith vthe projections 'on' said bodyan'd having a. portion that forms a delay motion `connection with said iiring-.pin carrier and a striker portion, and means to :rotate said translating sleeve to disengage said element lfrom said body and thereafter to rotate vthe aforesaid rotatable ymembers to allg-n said detonator,said firing pin vand said -strikerportion with the said .1'ead'in.

T2. A fuse', `'comprising a body having in it a fuse train passage, a rotatable ldetonator carrier injs'aid v`body hav-ing in it an `aperture to 'receive a -detonelton 'la rotatable 'firing pin carrier in said V''bodyadiagent said #detonator 'carrier having a portion 'to 'form -adelay motion 'connection 'with said detonator carrier; a 'rotatable'e'lernent having g portion's'engaged'withportions 'oi sai'djb'ody when 70. f inpthey unarmed "condition, "a portion forming a :delay'motionconnection 'with said -rlngpin car- `rie'rJan'd-fa striker; a "ringzpin finsaid .ring v'pin Lcairier7 'and-meansto translate said nelement to jd'isengage 'it' from. saidbody and thereafter to "I5 rotate said carriers and said element to align said detonator aperture, said firing pin ,and striker.

3. A fuse, comprising a body having in it a fuse train passage, a rotatable detonator carrier in said body having in it an aperture to receive a detonator, a rotatable firing pin carrier in said body adjacent said detonator carrier having a portion to form a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier; a rotatable element having portions engaged with portions of said body when in the unarmed condition, a portion forming a delay motion connection with said firing pin carrier and a striker; a ring pin in said firing pin carrier, and means to translate said element to disengage it from said body and thereafter to move said carriers and said element into the armed condition.

4. A fuse, comprising a body, a detonator carrier therein, a firing pin carrier therein having a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier, a iring'pin in said ring pin carrier, the aforesaid parts being normally in an unarmed condition, a portion forming a delay motion connection with said firing pin carrier and a striker; and means to move the above mentioned parts to the armed condition including a fixed nut in said body, a translating sleeve in screw-threaded engagement therewith, a thrust rod rotatable in said element having an end disposed in said sleeve and a collar seated against the inner face of said element, a shear pin connecting said rod and said sleeve, an internal gear carried by the outer face of said element, a vane carrier rotatable on said rod adjacent said element, a head nonrotatably mounted on the outer end of said rod, an internal gear carried by the inner face of said head and having a smaller number of teeth than the first-mentioned internal gear, a shaft rotatably mounted in said vane carrier, a pinion on one end thereof meshed With the first mentioned internal gear, a pinion on the other end thereof meshed with the second mentioned internal gear, both of said pinions having the same number of teeth, and vanes actuatable by air pressure mounted on said vane carrier.

5. A fuse, comprising a body, a detonator carrier therein, a ring pin carrier therein having a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier, a firing pin in said ring pin carrier, the aforesaid parts being normally in an unarmed condition; an element having parts engaged with said body in the unarmed condition, a portion forming a delayA motion connection with said firing pin carrier and a striker; and means to move the above mentioned parts to the armed condition including a iiXed nut in said body, a translating sleeve in screw-threaded engagement therewith, a thrust rod rotatable in said element having an end disposed in said sleeve and a collar seated against the inner face of said element, a shear pin connecting said rod and said sleeve, and mechanism operable by air pressure to rotate said translating sleeve to move said element out of engagement with said body and thereafter rotate said carriers and said striker into the armed condition.

6. A fuse, comprising a body, a detonator carrier therein, a firing pin carrier therein having a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier, a ring pin in said firing pin carrier, the aforesaid parts being normally in an unarmed condition; an element having parts engaged with said body in the unarmed condition, a portion forming a delay motion connection with said ring pin carrier and a striker; and means operable by air pressure to translate said element out of engagement with said body and thereafter rotate the said carriers and striker into the armed condition.

7. A fuse, comprising a body, a detonator carrier therein, a firing pin carrier therein having a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier, a firing pin in said ring pin carrier, the aforesaid parts being normally in an unarmed condition; an element having parts engaged with said body in the unarmed condition, a portion forming a delay motion connection With said firing pin carrier and a striker; and means to move the above mentioned parts to the armed condition including a xed nut in said body, a translating sleeve in screw-threaded engagement therewith, a thrust rod rotatable in said element having an end disposed in said sleeve and a collar seated against the inner face of said element, a shear pin connecting said rod and said sleeve, and mechanism operable by air pressure to rotate said translating sleeve to move said element out of engagement with said body and thereafter rotate said carriers and said striker into the armed condition, said mechanism including diiferentially operating gears.

8. A fuse, comprising a body, a detonator carrier therein, a firing pin carrier therein having a delay motion connection with said detonator carrier, a firing pin in said ring pin carrier, the aforesaid parts being normally in an unarmed condition; an element having parts engaged with said body in the unarmed condition, a portion forming a delay motion connection with said firing pin carrier and a striker; and means operable by air pressure to translate said element out of engagement with said body and thereafter rotate said carriers and striker into the armed condition, said means including differentially op- @rating gears and a device that moves longitudinally also when rotated through the action of said gears.

9. A fuse, comprising a body; in said body a rotatable detonator carrier having in it an aperture to receive a detonator, a rotatable firing pin carrier having an operating connection with said detonator carrier, a firing pin mounted in said ring pin carrier; a rotatable element having a striker and a portion forming an operating connection with said firing pin carrier, said striker, said aperture and said ring pin being angularly separated and said element and said body being interengaged in the unarmed condition, and means actuatable by air pressure to translate said element to disengage it from said body and then to rotate said carriers and said element to move said ring pin, said striker and said aperture into the armed condition.

10. A fuse, comprising ring mechanism having members that are both translatable and rotatable and other members that are rotatable only, actuating connections to translate the rstmentioned members and thereafter to rotate the second mentioned members when the first mentioned members are rotated, and air driven means connected to rotate said first mentioned members.

JAMES C. BYRNES. ERNEST C. MORIARTY. `JAMES C. DARNALL. 

